Delirium Trigger
by Panda Hallows
Summary: .: NejiSaku :.Neji loves Chocolate. Sasuke is a creepy stalker and Sakura doesn't realize that both want her. Sai is as jerky as ever and Naruto loves him some Ramen. Currently on the backburner, tbc...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One  
**

It was apparent that he was annoyed.

Why was he annoyed?

Because of her.

Sakura giggled for the fourth time during their mission, it was beginning to get on his nerves. Though he never showed it, that would be completely out of his character, but it was evident enough that he scowled. It wasn't even the sound of it that annoyed him but that it had gone on for hours. There had to be a point in which it would stop. He'd never known her to be so annoying before.

"Oh come on Hyuuga-san, it was a little funny, wasn't it?" she asked him which followed more giggling.

"No." He grumbled and continued walking along the path toward Suna. He curse the Hokage for placing him with the medic-nin from hell. Haruno Sakura was unaware of the Hyuuga's discomfort and continued to follow him. "Shouldn't you be acting a little more seriously? This is a mission after all, be on guard." He cast his eyes toward the girl and found that she held a straight face. It surprised him how quickly her expression changed.

"I know, but it's not too far up ahead. No worries" Her face was quite calm, although there was an underlying worry to it as well. "I still think it was funny when TenTen hugged you goodbye you practically fainted in her arms."

A light tint made it's way upon his cheeks and he turned his head away. "It was a normal reaction."

"Are you serious? How do you show affection towards the ones that matter to you?" she asked thoughtfully looking up at the tall, rather handsome Neji. She never noticed that before now. Hm.

"I don't." he stated giving her a blank stare. He did though in his own way. A head nod, a light wave, even sparring to him was a sign of affection but he chose not to verbalize that to Sakura. She wouldn't understand anyway. Showing too much affection could be seen as a weakness of sorts.

"I don't believe you. You care for your team right?"

"I do, but I don't go hugging Lee-san every time he does something admirable." Sakura cringed slightly as the image of Neji and Lee embracing in front of a sunset ran through her head. It was just too much for one mind to handle at once. Neji fainting in Lee's arms. Oh the horror.

"I guess you have a point." she sighed and watched as Suna came into view. They'd traveled for a few days and being stuck together was a rather cruel twist of fate, in Neji's mind. He'd worked with her many times and never had this much of an issue. Besides that he was just her escort. He just had to take her and bring her back since she was a medic-nin it wasn't as safe for her to go on her own. To some extent he didn't mind her company but it seemed that this trip she was trying especially hard to get on his nerves. It was working. "That would be so wrong, I mean I get sick from watching Gai-san and Lee-san doing that." she cringed again. He silently agreed.

The trip in itself had been a trial. For the first two days they camped out and got caught in a rainstorm. Sakura made a point to remind him of his teammates rather unorthodox way of saying goodbye. At one point in his life he could remember a time when he slightly respected the girl standing next to him, this shattered at the start of their mission. He remembered previous missions with her had gone so well. What the hell happened to that?

"Hn." he muttered frowning slightly as he too found the image of Gai-sensei and Lee embracing. He had to see it on a daily basis and he could understand fully how the image could damage a person's vision. Then again if he had witness say his uncle embracing Gai he'd be eternally scarred. Somethings are better left unseen.

"Oh hey Hyuuga-san." Sakura's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "There's somewhere I have to go before we go see Gaara-san."

"Shouldn't you be showing more respect toward him now that he's Kazekage?" She was just getting worse by the minute. What was wrong with this woman?

"He doesn't mind." She smiled up at him as they entered the gates of Suna. Sakura then deviated from the path toward the Sand Village HQ. He followed to her destination, which he found to be a cemetery. He raised an eyebrow as she entered it and walked down the rows of gravestones. She then stopped in front of one and sighed. He decided it would be best to leave her be so he jumped up in the tree a few feet away.

Sakura bent down and pulled something out of her bag. She then placed it on the edge of the headstone. "Hey, I brought you something. Silly as it is I always need to bring you something from my homeland. I miss you so much Tai." she whispered. "I remember how you used to tell me so many times not to cry whenever someone was looking, I've tried hard to follow that statement. Sometimes it can't be helped and then I wish more than most times that you were here to make it all better. But foolish Sakura always had her head in the clouds right?" she stopped for a moment and looked at the graves sitting on the left and the right of 'Tai's'. "I guess even in death you are the center of their world, eh onee-chan..."

"Ah I see you've arrived Pinky." chuckled Kunkurou who had suddenly appeared beside her. She glanced over her should to find Gaara himself standing just a foot behind her. Her face brightened and she practically tackled him to the ground. It had been a year since his revival and she was more than happy to see him again after all that time. She clung to him for dear life ranting on about missing him and so on. Gaara at first was surprised by the sudden attack but allowed a smirk to appear. For Sakura he would allow the contact. "Oh I see how it is, you're happy to see him but not me." Kunkurou pouted and Sakura laughed.

Gaara showed slight amusement as he watched her run over and hug his older brother with the same force as she had him. He rather enjoyed the pink-haired girls antics. She was what Naruto had described so many times. A precious person, a friend and most of all family. It was so new for Neji to witness Gaara as a normal young man, free from the monster that once ruled his life. It seemed that Sakura mattered a great deal to him as well.

"Yes, I missed Gaara-san but it's you who I miss the most." She grinned then she paused for a second and looked around her. "Hey, wait a second, where's Temari-chan?" she looked around her and found that the older girl wasn't anywhere to be found.

"She's right her." a voice said from behind her and she turned and hugged her.

"You know maybe we should visit less, then we'll all get hugs when we do, eh Gaara?" Kunkurou laughed as he nudged his younger brother. Gaara rolled his eyes and made a mental note to visit more. He did enjoy those visits more than anything.

"I see that you're still coming here after all these years." Gaara stated eying her and then the headstone with the name Haruno Tai on it.

"Yeah." She looked at it as well and sighed again. "I miss her everyday."

"You still blame yourself don't you Pinky?" she looked up at the older brother of Gaara.

"Sometimes...all the time actually. But it is my fault, honestly it should have been me that day..."

"Do not place blame on yourself, she made her choice and her love for you and her sacrifice would have been for nothing." Gaara placed a hand on her shoulder and gave a slight squeeze.

After he and Naruto had become friends she soon followed. She understood their friendship and knew that Naruto saw something special in Gaara. He also understood Gaara's pain and she could also place her confidence in him. Soon following his revival and return to his village things a turn for the better. A few months after that, she and Naruto had returned to celebrate Gaara's birthday, though he clearly didn't like the whole debacle that could be viewed as a party. In some turn of events Sakura and Gaara became very close. He allowed himself to put his guard down with her. If it had been a few years ago she would have been attacked by his sand, before she even had a chance to move.

Neji watched from above in his tree as the Kazekage and his siblings all stared at the headstone. He wondered what had happened to Sakura sister. He found that her having a sister shocked him. She had never once mention having siblings, then again she never talked about her family. For some strange reason Gaara's 'comforting' hand didn't sit well with him. Not that he should care about said hand on said pink haired medic nin but that thought had crossed his mind.

"Say, aren't these your parents here as well?" Temari asked eying the graves, one on the left of her sister's and on the right. Sakura nodded but her expression showed she hadn't wanted to be reminded. "Why do you only visit your sister and not them?"

"I never meant a thing to them but an extra child, a burden on their lives. My sister was a constant in my life. She reminded me each day that I was her precious person...but they...they never..." she sighed and looked at their names pressed into the stones. "...apart of me had always hoped they loved me...but I know they didn't... It's just easy not to feel anything for people I didn't know."

The silence that followed chocked the group. Sakura had never once openly discussed her family. It made more sense to Neji at that point. Who would want to state that they were unloved and parentless for most of their life? He himself understood what it was like to not have parents. His were gone as well. He felt strange at that moment, like he was just meeting Sakura for the first time. He almost forgot about the woman he was annoyed with before, seeing this one differently.

What started off as a cheery trip to Suna now ended in Sakura's crushed spirits. But the questioned that remained in Neji's head was this...

_  
...why were they buried in Suna?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two  
By Mirei**

His purpose on this mission was to watch over Sakura. That was it. Simple mission. He knew it wouldn't have been wise to allow her to journey alone each month but she was strong, too strong for a frail woman. She had requested him there and the Hokage granted her wishes. Her job was to come to Suna and train the medic-nin students there. Being that she was trained by Tsunade. Gaara wished to have as many well trained medics available.

So he sat in the last seat in the far left corner of the room, arms crossed, watching her teach. She wasn't as bad at it as he first thought she would be. Some of the things she taught were essential in missions as well as hospitals.

She looked up at him and smiled. He didn't respond though he wondered how she could smile after just leaving the cemetery an hour ago. Her smile made his insides do strange flipflops, something that he'd never experienced. He ignored them though and continued on with another train of thought. That still plagued his mind as well. Why was her family buried in Suna? It was probably as simple as it seemed. He didn't know much about Sakura in the first place.

_Maybe it's better that I not know. Then again I've been known to become overly curious. I could always ask...no...maybe I could look into her mind...no...that's invasion of privacy. If she wanted the world to know she would have said something...not that she would have said it to me, but someone must know..._

He shook his head and continued to listen to her lecture on the right way to run chakra through an injury. Watching her was like watching a teacher like when he was back at the academy. She then went onto showing them a chart she had made herself on how to remove poison without removing chakra. It also showed a quick way to do it. In case you found yourself in a dangerous situation and had to get everyone out fast. It was interesting.

When she talked about the 'exciting' world of medical ninjas she had a look of pure happiness shine in her eyes. He could tell that she really enjoyed being a medic nin and being able to feel useful after so many years of being a shadow. He used to pity her and though she annoyed him to no end he respected her. Desite he attempts at annoying her on long trips. This always seemed to happen to him. He'd find himself at the end of his rope and want to just leave her there alone in the woods, then they'd arrive and he'd realize who she was outside of the giggles.

He could still remember her on the day of the chuunin exam, when Lee hadn't shown up. She had been trapped by three Sound nins and he saved her. Whenever he thought on her an image of her smiling face appeared. The one when she was thanking Lee, the way that she placed a brave face on even though she had lost something that 'seemed' important to her at the time. She had done it for her teammates, to protect them, to break free from her weaker self and to prove to herself also that she was able to do something on her own, even if death was the end result. Sure he would admit that she knew how to get on his nerves but he saw much more then a girl who giggled a lot. There was no doubt that she wasn't smart, she had impressed the Hokage what he heard from the Hokage Sakura had managed to complete many difficult medic techniques that not even her other apprentice could at that age.

That her divine chakra control leveled up to the Hokage's as well. She not only learned medic techniques but also had her strength build up so much so that it matched Tsunade's. Though it never surpassed the older woman.

Her face still glowed in his mind. It was foreign territory for him to venture to. Thoughts of her in such a manner. This was Lee-san's dream girl and he was just another male to her. He was sure that her heart still beat for Uchiha and that in itself is something to stop anyone in their tracks. Not that he personally would ever hold deep longings for a female, let alone a medic-nin who constantly annoyed him.

He knew his role well in this particular mission, that was to protect and back her up. It never crossed his mind that she couldn't hadn't things on her own, but he also realized why Tsunade had sent him. One must never travel alone on long trips. These thoughts had come earlier and he knew them well.

"Class dismissed. Meet me in one hour in the examination room for your hands on test." the room slowly emptied as the students all left. Sakura let out a loud sigh of relief and plopped down in her chair. "Finally a little break." she grinned at Neji then pulled out a chocolate bar. He raised an eyebrow from the last seat in the back of the room. "Hey Hyuuga-san you want some?" she offered sticking it out in the air. He shook his head. Pulling it back she unwrapped it. Its delicious aroma filled the room. Something was going on inside of his mouth, something unknown to him. His taste buds were alive with hunger.

"I don't eat sweets." he answer despite himself.

"Why not, you don't know what you're missing." She broke a piece off and delicately placed it in her mouth made sounds of pleasure as she smiled and enjoy the bliss of chocolate. For some odd reason all he paid attention to was how the moments of her mouth made his own mouth water. He scowled suddenly at that. There was definitely something wrong with his train of thought. When in his lifetime had something so simple and innocent as the movement of a mouth during consumption caused such a large reaction from him?

"Oh crap, I forgot, I have to go set up for the hands on test." she jumped from her chair, chocolate forgotten, and dashed out of the classroom leaving a baffled Neji behind. It was a good thing she had left, he was beginning to salivate on the ground. Which was completely unlike him. Something was so wrong with him and she was the cause. It seemed unfair that such a little woman could stir up weird thoughts in his mind.

Rubbing his temple he stood and made his way toward the door, only to be stopped by the chocolate bar sitting there...tempting him. '_I can't give in like that, I refuse._' he thought to himself staring at it with desire.

She had been right about one thing, he didn't know what he was missing because he'd never had chocolate before. Slowly he inched his way toward the chocolate as though it were a dangerous foe that would strike if the right action wasn't taken.

Looking over his shoulder he found that he was still alone. Picking up the dark brown solid substance he sniffed it lightly and squeezed it to find that it was slightly melted. He couldn't determine quite what it smelled like, but it smelled sweet. His mouth began to water as he opened it and slid a piece inside.

The moment it touched his tongue he melted. It was the most amazing thing to ever enter his mouth. But as the door opened the good feeling left him. Sakura stood there with a raised eyebrow as she stared at the Hyuuga.

"Ah ha! I knew you couldn't resist." she pointed an accusing finger at him but held an amused smile. His silver eyes became wide as his mouth stopped chewing the sweetness of the chocolate. Never before had he been caught doing something like this. Savoring chocolate.

He was caught.

He was doomed.

He looked for an exit.

There was none.

"I don't know what you're talking about Haruno." He made sure to place the chocolate back down before she could see it. "I was just leaving this room." He made sure to walk around her in a quick pace. He made it to the door but he could still feel her eyes on his back. Could still see that smile on her face.

"You know, if you really wanted to try some all you had to do was ask." Her giggle floated to his ears and that practically pushed him out of the room into the hall. Shaking his head he made his way toward the Kazekage's home. They were to stay there until the next day. Maybe he could get the elder brother to spar with him. He needed to distract himself from her laughter and her delicious chocolate. He needed to drown her out of his mind before he went insane.

**

* * *

**

Sakura watched as he left and wondered why he was so embarrassment. It was quite normal to eat sweets at their age, at anyone's age. Even Kakashi did. Sighing she headed to the examination room. Sometimes she wished she could understand the creature known as Neji. At times she thought she could see a flicker of normalcy, then it vanished as quickly as it came.

When she finished with her students she strolled along the streets of Suna and wondered what she would do while everyone else was busy with their own work. She knew she wouldn't be seeing Neji for a while, he would most likely hide away somewhere, avoiding her.

Feeling something she looked up to find Gaara standing on a building. Smiling up at him he jumped down. He held so much authority in one little stride. She could tell that he was meant for his role as Kazekage. It was quite nice to see him so sure of himself.

"Why aren't you working? Isn't this the time that you are usually doing your paperwork?" He shrugged as the started down the street passing little shops.

"I'm the Kazekage I can do as I please and what I'm doing is walking with a friend while she's in town." she couldn't help but feel pleased at this. The word friend meant so much to her, as she hoped it meant as much to him.

"Oh really? Kazekage-sama I do apologize for questioning your great wisdom." She smiled knowing full well that he disliked being called that by his friends and family. It was still fresh for him, even after all this time.

"Funny Sakura, funny." His face remained stoic of course. But she could see the humor behind his seashore eyes.

"I know Gaara. So how has it been since I last saw you?"

"The usual, running this village and writing to you and Naruto. I find that I have more entertaining moments while visiting your village. This village is far too dry for people of your village. I do enjoy watching your village people stare as I walk along the streets."

"Yeah just a little bit but I do enjoy it and it once was my home. This place reminds me of what little moments I did have here."

They returned to his home for the evening. The sun had decided on vanishing over the sand-filled horizon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

He refused to leave his room.

Sakura had revealed to the Sand Siblings that Neji had been defeated by the all powerful chocolate. He remembered so well how the members of the household had blinked twice and then burst out laughing at the mental images of Hyuuga Neji being physically beaten by a chocolate. It wouldn't have been so bad if not for Sakura's very realistic drawing of the situation. Perfectly detailed panels of events, with dialog provided.

She'd been by his room a few times but he had his door locked and won't answer her. If she truly wanted to get in she could have. No lock could stop Sakura. But she chose to give him space.

After a few hours she'd given up on him ever leaving his room and went to bed. In the morning they were supposed to leave and return to Kohona. As much as she love Suna she missed her home.

"Open this door Hyuuga-san." a cheery voice said from the other side. He rolled his eyes and sighed. Even though he felt ridiculous for reacting this was, it was justified. He hated being put in the spotlight. Especially if he did something that wasn't like him.

He wasn't in the mood.

"Go away Haruno." He muttered. He couldn't stand to face her. Not when he was so emotionally strung out. He might actually blurt something personal out that he'd regret later.

"Are you still pouting? I mean seriously there isn't anything to be upset about. Chocolate is your friend and it loves you, it would never hurt you." She giggled and he felt himself grow sick from it. Giggling was one thing he knew he'd never get used to. What kind of shinobi giggled?

He refused to respond to her though and just closed his eyes. It irritated his so much that this girl could do this and he still let her live. Not that he would get violent with a girl or woman but if it had been anyone else then they would have been in a hospital in a coma right this moment.

The next morning Sakura practically dragged him to the cemetery so she could say goodbye to her sister. He gave her time to because he understood well enough that sometimes saying goodbye was hard. She stood before the grave and smiled at it. This was one common ground he could find with you woman with cherry blossom hair.

"Well onee-chan I'm going home today, I'll be back soon I promise. Maybe one day you can forgive me, but for now I'll take your silence. I love you more than you'll ever know." she sighed and then walked away without saying a word to her parents graves. That part threw him off a bit.

He'd been dying to ask her so many questions but knew it wasn't proper to pry into her personal life since they weren't really friends. It wasn't his place to ask her personal questions.

* * *

His ebony eyes observed the office of the Hokage. He'd been gone for more than five years. The smell was the same, that same scent that clearly showed that the Hokage was female. It was a flowery type scent that filled the room and almost suffocated him. It was so nauseating.

He knew full well that he was in for a lecture. He could tell that she was going over many things in her mind. But what could she possibly do to him that could be any worse then what Orochimaru had planned before his 'sudden' death.

She picked her head up from her papers and looked at him with suspicion. Her delicate eyebrow rose softly as she watched his eyes carefully. Was she looking for something? What?

"You've abandoned this village and betrayed it by following Orochimaru. Why you've returned here is beyond my understanding. So it is in the best interest of this village if you are monitored for a year or two to see if you are worthy of having a place back in our village. For a year you will wear a bracelet around your ankle that lowers your chakra to a point where you cannot do any damage to anyone in the village. While wearing this you will be doing community service for this village. You will not be allowed to exit this village for those two years and upon the end of your probation we will determine if you have paid your debt to society. Understood?"

"Yes Hokage-sama." she stared at him hard again and it made him twitch slightly in his seat. It was as though she were trying to read his thoughts. A smile spread upon her face suddenly and it freaked him out the most. Despite his feelings toward the woman or any for that matter, she truly unnerved him.

* * *

After finishing with their mission they dropped off their reports. Sakura stayed behind to talk with Tsunade about something. Then she headed on to find her blond friend.

"I see you started without me." she took the seat next to him. Shaking her head in disapproval. "I can't believe you didn't wait."

"Sakura-chan." he cheered looking at the girl next to him before chowing down. "Ish gowd toe shee ou." he mumbled with food oozing from his lips. Normally she would have given him a nice smack to his cranium for his poor manners, but not today. Today she was just happy to see him after being away.

"Uh...yeah Naruto, it's good to see you too." she laughed a little when he grinned. How she missed her best friend, even with his nasty eating habits.

Up until this point she hadn't noticed Sasuke sitting beside Naruto at the counter. She didn't quite know how to react to seeing him. She was warned before she had left the Hokage's office. She knew as much as her mentor would tell her and so entering moments ago she attempted to prepare herself for it. Being the new Sakura she was she gave a slight nod toward him. Remembering that moment years before seeing him standing up high away from them, with such hate in his eyes. The moment he disappeared she knew that she could never love him ever again, it was gone.

"So Sakura-chan how'd your mission go?" she diverted her eyes to her best friend.

"It went well. My students in Suna are progressing nicely. Gaara says hi. He tried to pawn his funny hat off on me. But sadly he 'lost' it. Hyuuga-san was a pleasant change from my usual partner. Whenever Shino goes with me he always talks about bugs. I mean I understand that it's his element but I don't want to hear about it. Then again I also like to get to my destination in a timely manner."

"Neji was pleasant?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Actually I annoyed him as much as I could the whole time. He wasn't the wiser. I had fun though." she grinned.

"So you annoyed me on purpose Haruno." came Neji's voice from behind her. She rolled her eyes. Inwardly she was cackling.

"Oh Hyuuga-san nice to see you. Oh no of course not, why oh why would I do something like that?" She put on an innocent face.

"Because you get some sick pleasure from seeing me in pain."

"Not pain. I just really enjoyed walking in the room and finding you-" his hand found her mouth and stopped her from finishing the sentence. She laughed behind his hands.

"Don't say a word Haruno, don't you think you've done enough damage."

"Hardly." she laughed pulling his hand away. "Come on it wasn't that bad and you got me back."

"True, but even still you have done nothing but torture me the past few weeks. I ask you Haruno why are you doing this to me?"

"Maybe because I like ya." she laughed with a wink and got up from her seat. "Or maybe I DO enjoy your pain." she strolled from the shop and disappeared. Neji's eye began to twitch.

"You know Neji, if you want revenge I know how you can do it." Naruto said eying the irritated Neji.

"Are you not her best friend? Why would you want to help me?"

"Let's just say that Sakura has been in need of a good lesson. She took all my Ramen from my house and replaced it with...with..." he shuttered. "Health food!" He gasped and made a face of disgust.

"Hm, I still don't want to use your childish methods. There are reasons why Sakura acts the way she does. She is rather talented at faking her emotions. So much so that even you two could be fooled." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the Hyuuga's words. "No, I shall deal with that woman myself."

"Yeah she tends to fake happiness. I can tell sometimes when she pretends." Naruto sighed suddenly forgetting the idea of revenge against the pink haired kunoichi.

"On our trip she visited the cemetery and while there I discovered that her parents and her sister were all buried there. It made me wonder as to why that was."

"It's not common knowledge for most people here. But she told me a few years ago that she was born in Suna. Her story was cut up a bit but from what I gather her parents just didn't want her there, didn't care what happened to her really. Her older sister decided to bring her here to their aunt, who was a little old but still willing to look after her. To this day though, Sakura blames herself for her sister's death. She was killed while returning to Suna. I never knew any of that about Sakura, I just always thought she had parents and such. But don't tell her I said anything or she'll dig my grave with her fist." he shuttered. Neji just nodded and stood up, heading for the exit. "Hey, where you going, Neji-san!"

"I've got somewhere to be." He muttered and left.

"You know, recently those two have been doing that. It's so weird for Neji-san to come looking for her just to tell her about something annoying she did on a mission or to comment on something. I'm wondering what is going on between them." Naruto grinned at Sasuke. "Wouldn't it be crazy if they ended up together? Could you imagine Neji-san confessing his undying love to her? Hilarious!" he cheered and stuffed his face with Ramen.

"Hn." Sasuke just stared down at the Ramen before him and wondered how this could have all come to pass. When had Sakura changed so much. HE had always doubted that she could change from that frail little girl into someone who could freely argue with someone like Hyuuga.

He never really cared for her then because his mind with consumed in revenge. He never gave much thought to the girl who gave him her heart, only to have it shoved repeatedly in her face. Now she wouldn't even spare him more than a few words.

Apart of him long to hear her 'annoying' voice ask him out or even praise him. It may have been selfish on his part but seeing her now made him want it more. Why had Hyuuga even bothered with Sakura after the mission ended? Was there in fact something going on between them? _Why do I even care?_ He felt his eye twitch slightly as his own thoughts betrayed him.

He'd been sitting there thinking far too long, for when he looked back up and around Naruto was gone. When had that happened?

Looking down he found a little note:

"Went to see Hinata-chan see ya later!" he read aloud. "Hn." So he was alone again. What would he do next? He knew that he'd be helping Iruka-sensei out the day but he had a full day to do as he wished, sort of. He could go visit old friends, if he had any. Most of the people he knew were from the chuunin exam and they'd all risked their next to find him, which he had not wanted at the time. They might not be too happy with him at the moment.

There was always Sakura.

* * *

He'd traveled for a whole hour trying to locate the pink-haired kunoichi but found no trace of her. She hadn't stated where exactly she was headed, but she just rose and left after bantering with Hyuuga. The thought that Naruto has so 'innocently' placed in his head was popping up every few seconds. Sakura and Hyuuga would never..

He stopped mid-thought and shook his head. Why would he even care if she was involved with someone. There were no romantic feelings between them, he could hardly say they were friends. For that matter he didn't even know her. The image of a twelve year old girl begging him to take her away with him still played fresh in his mind. But upon seeing her at the Ichiraku earlier it seemed that she wasn't the same. He remembered the conversation that he had with Naruto before Sakura's arrival.

_The two sat in complete silence for a few moments until Naruto decided to start up conversation with his long time friend and rival._

"_So...Sasuke-teme, how was it with Orochimaru?"_

"_I didn't spend all that time with him dobe. I was there a couple years then I left to pursue my brother, it took many years just to find him. I killed my brother, then Orochimaru then came back here."_

"_Oh, okay." a grin scattered across his messy noodle filled face. Then he sighed. "Man I wish Sakura would hurry back from her damn mission." he grumbled. A mission..._

"_What mission? Why didn't you go along?"_

"_Oh she and Neji went to Suna. Sakura teaches classes out there monthly. She's also got an apprentice or two who train with her while she's there. She became a medic nin while you were gone. Funny thing is, she's a lot like Tsunade-baachan." He remembered seeing her at the Hokage's office while he was being given his 'punishment'._

_Sakura had seemed more like the blonde._

"_Hn."_

"_Heh she even has her strength, just wait 'til you see it. She can crush boulders with a single punch. When we met up again after our training years ago she punched me into the ground, it was the most painful thing I've ever experienced. So just watch out, she's a lot stronger then before. Fists of deadly fury!" he grinned then feeling a swell of pride for his best friend. Sasuke however hadn't found anything that Naruto said to be true. "So yeah like I said she went on her mission with Neji, she should be back by now though. Oh well she knows to come here after she's done with whatever she's doing." He shrugged and began to eat again._

"_Dobe." Sasuke's voice broke through the momentary silence._

"_Huh?" Naruto looked back up from his now second love, Hinata came first of course._

"_Why did she go with Hyuuga?" Why had he asked such a question?_

"_Well she requested that he be her partner in this mission. She refused to go with Shino. She also refused to work with anyone else. I thought it was kind of strange that she asked for him specifically though. I mean I would have been happy to go with her. But she doesn't like too much chatter on missions and Neji-san doesn't talk that much. You know how she is on her precious missions."_

"_Actually I don't." he gave Naruto a bored/irritated look._

"_Right. Well if she sees that the mission might be a serious one she'll be completely silent the whole way. If not then she's more relaxed and might talk a bit. She nearly killed me this one time when I went with her to retrieve stolen scrolls in Wave. She had to go undercover as a dancer and seduce a man for the scrolls. It was the worst mission of my life. I so wanted to kill that man for holding Sakura like that." he glared at his ramen but then realize hello it was ramen, the thing that fulled his days and kept him all warm and fuzzy inside, then again he did have a cute blue haired girl to give him those same feelings, only ten times stronger. "Well I almost did something stupid by revealing myself and Sakura said that we couldn't do undercover missions together anymore." he finished his tale. "So when she was oftered to train the medic-nin's in Suna she was so excited. Then Shino was assigned as her 'escort' and she could only go two times with him before it got annoying. Now Neji is her escort."_

"_Hn." was all he really could say to that. _

No sign of her as he continued along the streets of Kohona. He knew nothing of the life she led after his departure. What Naruto had told him was what he had to go on. He recalled that she was a medic-nin so she'd be at the hospital most likely. But when he had gone there he found she wasn't there either. So it left him to ponder where else the girl could have gone to.

Then like a chip diving into a great big bowl of nacho cheese, it hit him, she had to be training. Or maybe she was shopping. That thought had been his first before training but then this was a different Sakura. Not bothering to rush he made his way toward the training grounds. He wondered how strong she had become, if she had at all. No matter how much he tried to picture Sakura as someone strong and different. That girl from many years ago would appear with that annoying voice, begging him for a date. Praising him. Fawning over him like he actually cared about her childish feelings.

Arriving at the training grounds he could hear a few explosions and wondered what could be causing them. As he grew nearer to the sounds he found two people standing on a torn up field facing one another.

"Give up." A tall, rather handsome man stated with a smile on his face.

"Hell no bastard!" The girl with pink hair yelled back glaring at him.

"Ugly, just save yourself the embarrassment of losing." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the pair. This seemed familiar. They seemed to be really close though. How one earth did they know each other? The guy looked so familiar.

"Why do you always assume I'm going to lose when I kick your ass every time we spar?" She stated and then stomped her foot on the ground, it didn't look as though it would have done anything. But when she did this the ground began crack. Then Sakura disappeared before both guys.

"Damn, where'd she go?" the guy wondered searching around him. "Not left, not right...or above me...or behind..." His eyes became wide suddenly as he felt himself being sucked into the ground. His scream was then abruptly silenced. Sasuke wondered what happened as he watched on. No movement whatsoever until the ground began to shake again. This time though it was like the ground was reforming itself, if possible.

His eyes fell upon something in a distant tree that caught him off guard though. There sat on a branch rather comfortably was Sakura. Turning back to the field he found that the guy with raven-colored hair...had his head sticking out of the ground while the rest of him was underground.

"Very mature Sakura!" The guy yelled trying to break free.

"Really now I was just having fun. No harm in that Sai-teme?" She sauntered over to the trapped guy and sat down in front of his head. "So,is it comfortable down there?"

"Actually yes, quite nice. All I need is a pillow and this will be just like home." he barked at her.

"Touchy today aren't we? Did Lee turn you down again." she giggled when he glared. "You are getting better at acting less like a robot though, which is great." she said as an afterthought.

"I'm not fucking gay dammit!" then he paused. "What?"

"You're almost like a real person, its shocking." she grinned.

"I'm human, just not very functioning."

"Sure, if you say so." she patted his head. "I'll see ya later Sai-teme!" she then disappeared not even bothering to say a word to Sasuke. This unnerved him a little. She knew he was there but didn't bother to say anything. Then again she didn't have a reason to.

"Damn you Sakura! Now how am I going to get out of this one." the guy named Sai pondered aloud as he continued to wiggle under the dirt. Sasuke remember being trapped like that once by Kakashi. It was a simple trick with chakra. But then the guy must have realized that because in a matter of seconds he was out of the ground and dusting off his vest. "I'll get you back one day, you evil kunoichi." The guy shook his fist in the air with a determined look on his blank face...if that could even be remotely possible.  
He left the scene before the guy started to act like Lee or Gai and talk about youth blossoming or something like that. He had a feeling as to where she was headed next.

To the hospital.

He felt like a stalker.

He WAS a stalker.

What kind of message was this sending to Sakura? He could see her through the window and clearly hear inside of it. She was in a white lab coat walking toward what looked like a twelve year old girl with light blond hair.

"So let me guess, you tried to show off again." A pink eyebrow quirked up.

"Yeah, I was trying to show Kyoto that I could control my chakra. But I fell off the tree when Mashi yelled out something obscene."

"Ah yes Mashi, my most frequent visitor." Sakura smiled at the girl and finished fixing her cuts.

"Haruno-sama, could I ask you something?" the girl's voice was timid.

"You know you can and call me Sakura." She took a seat opposite the girl and got ready to listen.

"Okay Haru-I mean Sakura, you know about how I like Kyoto..."

"Yes I do, as do all of his out of control fangirls." she grinned.

"I know that it he's my teammate and that he's not so nice sometimes but I just can't help it..." Sakura smiled knowingly.

"Do you want my advice?"

"Oh yes, please." the girl looked eagerly at Sakura.

"Well when I was your age I too had thought that I was 'in love' with a boy who found me utterly annoying. But then when he left I realized how nieve I had been for wasting all that time chasing him when I should have been training. I was considered the weakest in my team you know."

"No way! You're like super strong though."

"Well back then I cared so much about how I looked and what he thought of me that I didn't care about training. I deluded myself into believing that he could love me. I just don't want you to also place yourself in that kind of situation."

"So what should I do?"

"I want you to ask yourself why you want to become a shinobi. Is this for you or for him? If the answer is not you then maybe you should rethink what you want out of your life."

"When did you realize that you wanted to be a shinobi?" Sakura paused for a moment and the girl looked more eager as the moment passed.

"I think the moment that Lee-san defended me during the chuunin exam was when it happened. I was tired of being the weak one, sure I'd always be the weak one but at the time I wanted to better myself."

"And you did." the girl cheered.

"It took many years and harsh training. My mind was tested as well as my body. The work of a kunoichi is a dangerous one. You never know what will be asked of you once you get older and are given unbelievable missions." She looked seriously at the girl.

"I think I understand."

"That's good, Yuri." Yuri got up and headed towards the exit. "Oh and tell Kakashi-sensei I said hi and that he owes me a training session."

"I will." the girl smiled at Sakura before disappearing.

"Aren't children just wonderful, Hyuuga?" she asked out of nowhere. She turned in her chair to find Neji standing in the doorway. "What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"I..um...do you have anymore..." he stopped himself as a light blushed made it's way upon his cheeks.

"You don't mean..."

"Don't say it." he put his hand up and attempted to stop the crimson that was creeping up ever so slowly on his face.

"But-"

"Don't."

"I was just going to-"

"I know what you're going to say, just say yes or no so I can leave with my dignity." he sighed.

"I never really imagined that you'd want it that bad." she giggled. Sasuke's eye twitched slightly when she said this. What is THAT supposed to mean! Was his mind swimming in the gutter or what?

"This is all your doing, you left it there on purpose because you knew me well enough to know I'd let my curiosity overcome my logic."

"That and the fact that no one can resist this stuff, it's the greatest thing every concocted by human hands."

"Just give me it." there was a slight plead in his voice.

"What do I get if I give you this?" Neji's eyes became wide. "Oh relax Hyuuga-san. You can have this but in exchange I want you to go on the next mission I have with me."

"I always do don't I?"

"Well, yes but this one isn't to Suna. My next mission is in a few weeks and it's an A-ranked mission, we'll be going undercover."

"Should I be concerned?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No worries, you'll be the lookout and I'll be the one doing the undercover work. I'll explain it to you later on though, plus I think Tsunade-sensei will brief us."

"Right...can I have it now?" She smiled at him and then walked up and stood in front of him. She placed the square object into his hands and watched on as his eyes lit up. Ripping through the wrapper he then dug in the dark chocolate.

"So-"

"Not a word to anyone, remember that Haruno."

"Yeah yeah yeah, gotta protect your reputation. But seriously you should slow down on that stuff, you'll get fat if you keep it up."

"Ah but that's what training is for." He smirked down at her. She just rolled her eyes.

"Oh I know what we could do, let's go get some ice cream, my treat."

"What makes you think I want ice cream?"

"Well...you like that." she pointed to the chocolate, only to cause him to shove it into his mouth as though he were worried that she'd take it from him. "And ice cream is just as sweet."

"Ah." he nodded.

"So is that a yes?"

"Hn."

"Alrighty, let me go check on a patient and then we can go, my break is coming up in ten minutes." He nodded and watched her leave the room. Once she was out he rubbed his forehead.

"What is wrong with me?" he groaned running a hand through his hair. Not only was he showing his weakness in front of Sakura but he caught himself staring at her body as she walked away. "I do not find her attractive. I don't, I'm...doomed." he shook his head and turned to leave the room.

Sasuke's eyes became wide upon what he had just seen and what Neji had muttered. What the hell had gone on during their mission?


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

There plans would have gone through smoothly if not for the appearance of Sai. He stood before Sakura and Neji as they left the hospital covered in in dirt from head to toe. Upon seeing Neji though any thoughts of revenge upon the girl vanished. The only person to stop Sai in his tracks was Neji and that was because he knew that real trouble would come if he were to mess with the Hyuuga. Not that he would ever actually admit such a thing though.

"Don't think you've won just yet." He huffed. "When you least expect it, I'll be there. When you turn a corner, I'll be there. When-"

"Ya, ya ya so on blah blah blah, you do this every time I beat you. Go home shower and we'll go eat later, then tomorrow we can continue our battle." she waved at his as she and Neji passed.

"Fine but you're paying!" Sai shouted when they were at a distance.

"Fine!" she shouted back.

Neji wasn't sure how he felt about the two of them. He understood that they were friends underneath the name calling and the fights. But was there something deeper? Probably not, Sai was far from interested in Sakura. They both enjoyed pushing each others buttons and that was about it. They were sort of like Naruto and Sasuke in a sense. He wondered how they happened to form their weird friendship of the timespan.

"Do you really want to go for ice cream? I mean we don't have to we can just go to our respective homes. I know I'm not the easiest person to get a long with so-"

"I would like to try some of it. Tenten-san used to discuss it with Lee-san."

After walking down the street they grabbed some strawberry ice cream cones and headed on their way. Sakura kept wondering though why Neji wanted to be around her when he could just go home and train until they were needed back in Suna. Naruto wanted to head that way to visit Gaara but that wouldn't be allowed for weeks. After two years of being around Neji he had softened radically. There was a time when his mood was set to stoic and he wouldn't be caught dead in public.

Sasuke continued to follow all day long, he'd given up on ridiculing himself for the possibility of being a stalker. In a matter of nearly 2 hours he had gone from aloof and stoic Sasuke to Sasuke the Sakura Stalker. He had no logic behind it other than the fact that he was a male who subconsciously told himself that Sakura was his way before his conscious self actually knew it. Part of him just enjoyed the physical aspects of the young woman but he knew she was far from the same girl he knew. If he was really honest with himself he knew that after years of pushing away her affections he now craved them like a starved animal.

Neji knew that Sasuke was following Sakura around which was why he had agreed to go for ice cream with her in the first place. He couldn't quite understand why they were suddenly spending time together outside of missions. They had nothing in common and besides that he wasn't known to spend time with anyone. People might start to talk about his outings with the attractive medic-nin. 'Stop thinking that.' he shook his head to clear it but only caused hair to fly into his mouth in the most unappealing way.  
"You okay up there Neji?" Being that he was taller than her. Looking down at her he nodded. "Hair in mouth? That used to happen to me when I had my hair really long...it still does." she giggled a little and for once he didn't flinch at the sound.

Sasuke knew what that giggle meant. It was a flirtatious type that girls often used on him when he was younger. He had only been there a few hours and many girls have already chased, tackled and stalked him. At that moment as he stalked Sakura there were at least ten other girls stalking him and Neji. The village was filled with stalker...disturbing...

"Hokage-sama said our next mission is in a few days. Turns out we're needed in Suna for a different reason this time. She called me into her office just before we left the hospital."

"Why didn't you tell me before? Why didn't she tell me while I was in her office?? What of the other mission in a few weeks?"

"Because she just got word from Gaara before we got back. Oh and that mission has been handed over to someone else just in case we get held up in Suna. This time I won't annoy you too much. I'll try to be a better shinobi on this mission, promise." He stopped walking.

"Haruno, do not assume that I think you're a horrible shinobi. In fact you are the only other intelligent life here." she gave a small smile up at him and they continued to walk toward her apartment. "Though you do tend to get emotional far to easily and as a female you are quite loud. And you were trying really hard to actually be annoying."

"Is that so wrong?" she didn't look up at him but she wondered if it bothered him that she was too emotional. Why was she even concerned about how he saw her? He got easily annoyed by anything and couldn't be found with people in general so part of her felt 'special' but then she wondered why he was with her at that moment. "And I'm not that loud." She pouted. "and I was only doing it to get you to act less like a stick in the mud." she stated as an afterthought to his comments.

"No and you are." Glancing down at her she was looking straight ahead while eating her ice cream. She must not have heard the last part. He had long since finished his and now felt the need to get more of it. He couldn't help but watch as she ate her ice cream. A light tint appeared on his cheeks though feeling that he had been caught. Sakura hadn't seemed to notice and continued what she was doing.

"That mission you were talking about earlier, what will that mission entail?"

"I don't have all the details yet but once I do I will inform you fully. Naruto, Sasuke and Sai will be come with us though since we're all close to Gaara he requested just us. Though I wonder why Sasuke is going, when he's supposed to be on probation for leaving the village."

"Ah. We shall find out soon."

Sasuke frowned as they continued to talk. He hated the Hyuuga far more than he had originally. This would not do. He had to find a way to keep them from seeing each other, somehow. Maybe he could do so on the mission.

* * *

Sakura and Sai had bonded in the strangest of ways. No one outside of their circle of friends would ever even suspect that they could ever become friends. But they had their own way of showing affection. Their constant bickering and 'fights' were their way of joking and having fun with one another. At the end of the day they would meet up and have a nice meal together and surprisingly enough enjoy each other's company. After about a year they had established something that would qualify as friendship. No one really understood at first until one mission where they had to work together. Sai had brought an unconscious Sakura home in his arms and refused to leave her side until he knew that she was okay. Though he would never be nice toward her they both knew that they cared for each other.

Sipping on her broth she listened to the rest of Sai's story of an encounter with a Naruto. It was the same old story that she listened to but she didn't mind much if it meant that they could have a civil conversation.

"I've noticed that Uchiha's been following you around all day. Have you noticed that?"

"Of course I know and I'm more than sure that he is now." She motioned to the right of them with her eyes. Sai didn't even need to look, he could feel Sasuke's low level of chakra from up in a tree. "It's a bit strange though that he is following me of all people around. I mean he's been doing this since I saw him here earlier this afternoon."

"I don't get it either, Ugly. I wouldn't spend my entire day following something ugly around, especially when there's other girls around to admire more closely." He received a whack to the back of the head. "It is quite odd that the traitor would want to be near you when he really doesn't even know you at all anymore. What did Hyuuga say about it?"

"Actually nothing, we went to train after we had ice cream and then I took a shower and he walked me here."

"He must not like that Uchiha is following you around. This must really excite you, having to strong men possessively want you."

"Actually its really disturbing. Neji and Sasuke are both cold people but I get along with Neji better. I don't mind Neji hanging around but Sasuke is like a creepy stalker."

"That is disturbing. What are you going to do?"

"I have no idea until he approaches and he won't unless I'm alone. That's what he might be waiting for. I've been with at least one person all day since I got back. So eventually I'll be on my own and he'll come out of the shadows thinking that scared little Sakura will be there for him to taunt."

"Hm...how would the old Sakura handle this situation? I didn't know you then."

"Well if I were still the same person I would blush profusely and think that he was following me because he likes me...which is completely and totally out of the question. I would have been happy about this situation but I'm really not. He can't stand not haven't the attention for once and I find that to be really sad."

"You don't want someone admiring you?'

"I just don't like it when someone walks all over my heart shoves it down my throat in little pieces and then comes back and says 'hey give me it back its mine.' Does that make any sense at all to you?"

"Hn. Well we need to go meet up with everyone before it gets too late you have to work tomorrow remember?"

"Oh yes I remember. For the first time in a long time I really would prefer to not go and just stay in bed all day."

"That's too bad. Let's get going before Naruto decides to come looking for us."

"Because he's convinced that you and I are having a secret love affair?" she laughed as they started down the street toward a well known bar that most ANBU and Jounin alike visit frequently after missions.

"That would never happen, I'd much rather run off with Kiba's dog than you."

"Ha ha ha, you're hilarious you ass."

"Yes, yes I am."

They continued on their way while a rather angry Sasuke followed knowing that Naruto requested his presence there so that he could see everyone there. He was going to 'respectably' decline but finding that Sakura would be there he couldn't pass up the chance. He didn't like her hanging around this Sai person or Hyuuga and now she would be surrounded by even more males, who by nature are pigs. He knew all too well, he was one of them.

Sasuke made sure to get there way before Sakura so that she wouldn't know he was following her. Of course she already knew but it would help him feel better if she didn't know that he had been there while she was with Sai. Basically he didn't want to get caught. Make sense?

Sakura and Sai entered ten minutes after he did as he sat with Naruto and Kakashi in the back. But the moment that Naruto saw Sakura and Sai he called them right over. No one had really said anything to him and partly he was grateful for that. Neji kept looking at him oddly though. Sakura said hello and then proceeded to go over to Neji as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Neji nodded after she said something.

"I don't know what to do Neji." 'So she's calling me Neji now? Does that mean I should call her Sakura? That does sound nice even in my thoughts.'

"Why don't you confront the situation?" he asked sipping on his sake.

"That sounds so easy when you say it but doing it is a completely different thing." She sighed downing her sake. It was so weird for her to be sitting down next to Neji while all their friends did their own thing. This felt normal and strange all at once. Before their last mission they never really spent any time together off the clock. She was actually starting to get used to having him around. Just after a whole day of being back and after that week they had spent traveling. What was going on with them exactly? Were they becoming friends?

"I could go along with you tomorrow. I'm sure that we can convince him to stop following you."

"We? When did this become a 'we' thing?" She questioned raising an eyebrow at him.

"Friends help friends and that's how 'we' became 'we'. Or are we not friends?" He couldn't believe that he pulled out the friend card like that. He didn't just want friendship with the medic-nin he wanted so much more. In the short time he's never wanted anything more than her and he couldn't let Uchiha get in the middle of that. It was apparent to Neji that Sasuke was causing Sakura great distress and that didn't settle with him. If it were possible he'd stay near her just to make sure that no other male had the chance to look at her. He couldn't understand though why he felt so possessive over this ordinary girl who really didn't stand out from any other person. Yet there was something about her that made him want her. He was determined to figure out what that something was.

Neji wasn't known to drink heavily like most shinobi would. Sakura was also not the type to but it seemed she herself hadn't even realized how much she drank until it was too late. After an hour Sakura was leaning against his shoulder talking about something that he couldn't really understand. What he could grasp was that there was a rather attractive female who he couldn't stop thinking about since he left her with Sai pressed against his shoulder. If he were any other man he would have taken advantage of the situation but he wasn't that type of male. Once everyone had left, including the stalker, Sasuke, Neji lifted her up in his arms and started for her apartment.

Tomorrow they had planned to go and train together before Sakura would go and talk with Sasuke. He remembered promising to be her back up since Sasuke might be strong enough to catch her off guard. It was highly unlikely but it could still happen.

Reaching her place he grabbed the keys from her pocket and opened the door. He remembered being there only three hours before so naturally he knew where he was going. Placing her in her bed he grabbed some aspirin and placed them next to her bed on the night stand. Tomorrow would be a better day he hoped.

Sakura woke the next morning and felt heavy. It was like her head was filled with water. Glancing over at her clock she found that it was still very early in the morning. She couldn't even remember sleeping, just that Neji had left her. Contrary to popular belief her memory of the night was very clear and she surprisingly didn't humiliate herself. Neji didn't try to take advantage of her like most men would have and she wasn't sure if that was disappointing or not.

Laying there after taking the aspirin she found that though they helped a little she still felt tired and weak. She knew that she had a training session with Neji at eight and he'd be at her door if she were late. Getting up from bed she got showered and dressed and headed for the training ground to find that Neji was already there.


	5. Chapter 5

**Panda Note:** This is the 3rd time I've posted this chapter! Ugh!! I regretted the plot twist with the sister coming back so I had to take it out. So its no longer there. It was not needed in this at all. So enjoy!

**Chapter Five**

The training field was just as she had left it yesterday. She often used this particular spot for intense training sessions. She grinned to herself as she spotted the hole in which Sai had occupied the day before. Each upturned rock and patch of missing grass told a story of her many encounters with her opponents.

Neji was leaning against a tree with his eyes closed. She found herself studying him as she approached, he changed so much. He looked pretty good, now that she had a chance to actually look without being caught. He looked quite handsome, she couldn't believe she hadn't noticed this before. He had seemed to grow out of an awkward boy into a man, it was breathtaking.

Grinning inwardly she reached him. Thoughts of the night before came to mind. She still wondered why he hadn't tried anything. Maybe he just wasn't into her.

"You managed to find your way, Haruno." 'Haruno? What the hell???'

"You are correct, Hyuuga-san." she said in a voice that didn't sound like her own. More formal than usual.

"Let's get started then." he stated taking off his overshirt and stretching his arms and back.

They trained for three hours until they couldn't move and found themselves lying on the grass staring up at the trees blowing in the wind. Sakura couldn't remember when she'd worked out this hard. Then again it was Neji she was up against and he never went easy on anyone.

"That was great! I love training.." she breathed out glancing over to her left. He seemed just as elated as he was as his face turned towards hers. She felt a light blush come creeping onto her cheeks.

"Yes Sakura-san." ' I hope she understands why I called her Haruno earlier..'

"Thanks Neji for training with me." She stated and felt a flutter in her stomach as he said her name. It all came into focus then and there why he'd called her 'Haruno' before.

"Hn."

Neji watched as she stood up and dusted her pants off. She looked down at him as he too sat up. He couldn't help but admire how she looked with her hair a mess and covered in dirt. He never saw her look more amazing then she did at that moment.

Sakura blushed under his gaze. She shyly started toward her bag and grabbed a thing of water. Understanding the strange sensation that rushed through her with Neji's eyes on her was hard. Was he just...no he couldn't have..? She thought but pushed it out and started off with him toward town, not knowing that Sasuke was trailing them like usual. It wouldn't have surprised her if he were actually trailing her but at that moment her mind was distracted. It never came to mind to check for his low chakra in the area.

Sai waved her down as she neared the center part of the village. He was hanging upside down on a tree branch watching people pass. She shook her head and allowed a small smile to appear. Sai could be the silliest person at times that she forgot all his faults. As much as she wanted to deny that they were friends at times she realized why they worked. Deep inside she knew that he cared and despite the dirty words and mean things he said she knew the truth. He'd learned so much over the years about humans and how to really function.

Sasuke hated what had become of him. Here he was as stoic as ever following Sakura around. No reason could be found other than pure competition with Hyuuga. That could be the only answer. He had watched them go at it on the training field for a while and followed them from there to a coffee shop. There he could see them from a distance. The way she giggled at his words like a silly girl. Like she used to at him. She then left from there in search of her 'dear friend' who was a disturbing copy of himself. 'Why is this loser even here?' he wondered to himself as Sakura poke at this copy's stomach.

"No fair Ugly!! You know I'm odd in that spot."

"You mean you're ticklish." She laughed and poked him again causing him to fall out of the tree.

"Wench..." Sasuke thought at first that everything was going well. She seemed calm but what he hadn't expected was Sai's body imprinted into the ground. He didn't even see it happen. No fist fly no sound.

"Now Sai-teme what did I say about calling me crude names like that?" She said in a voice filled with sugar.

"It must have slipped my mind." Is what would have been heard if he didn't have a mouth full of dirt covering up his words. What came out was something that couldn't be properly decoded.

"Right." Sakura must have been used to this, as though it were routine. "Maybe one of these days you'll learn when its right to shut the hell up." She stated and started down the sidewalk. "Are you coming or what?" She called after realizing he wasn't walking with her.

"Oh forgive me Sakura but I was digesting dirt and recovering from your manly strength." Her eye twitched but refused to get angry. He crawled out of the ground and dusted himself off.

"This time, but don't let it happen again."

"What was our plans today anyway? You were supposed to go with Hyuuga and use your manly strength to beat down the traitor for being a creepy, not very professional stalker." A few feet away Sasuke sweat dropped. After witnessing Sakura's power he wondered if he should go into permanent hiding. His purpose for following her wasn't worth death but something kept him going on. Jealousy mostly. If he didn't find a way to win her over before she fell into the idea of his creepy stalker-ish behavior he'd be doomed.

"I should probably go talk to Tsunade-sama about that mission she mentioned yesterday."

"You are just unbelievable sometimes. What kind of shinobi are you?"

"The best kind."

Sakura remembered earlier with Neji, how he had called her Haruno. At first she wondered why and then he simply stated as they made their way to the coffee shop that formalities were everything. He considered her a friend outside of training and missions but he was all about tradition and following protocol. To him it was an insult to be so informal with an opponent. It was clear to her more than ever that this friendship would work. A friendship she knew would still mess with her head was the one formed with a homicidal Itachi and Deidara.

Though it had only been a few weeks it had been a strange experience. To make a long story short they had found themselves on the same side as the Leaf Village when it came to taking down Sound. It was that simple. Sasuke had his go with his brother and thought that he had finished him off. But Itachi being who he is couldn't very well just die. Not with so many fan girls to please. Kidding. No he couldn't die that easily.

She was sent on this special mission with the two missing nins in hopes of taking down Sounds defense. Along this mission was another team of leaf paired up with other members of Akatsuki. To say the least this mission was intense and downright disturbing. But Itachi and Deidara turned out to be alright. She and Deidara found a common ground when it came to his erratic 'yeah' thing. Itachi didn't talk much and when he did it wasn't something to be documented and saved.

After the war Sakura wondered what would become of them. They couldn't return to the village and with Sasuke finally finished with his quest to destroy his brother he could relax. It seemed like a win-win situation. It wasn't as though Sasuke would be allowed to go on high ranked missions, minus the one they were going on soon, but that was with a group.

She wondered though how her two scary friends were doing at that moment.

* * *

Somewhere far away Deidara's ear twitched. He couldn't hold back a grin. Sakura...

* * *

"It's going to be a long day Ugly! Why am I shouting?!"

"I don't know.." she held back a giggle though.

They both needed to find other people to talk to at times. Their conversations would go nowhere fast and it was a sad thing. Silence would follow them until they reached Naruto who was enjoying Ramen as usual. Even with maturity creeping up to him he was still the same old Naruto with a bit more edge.

"So Bastard you're leaving tonight for a mission?" Naruto asked as Sakura and Sai joined him.

"Yes Idiot." Sai replied sipping on his broth.

"Hey Naruto, have you seen Sasuke since he got back?"

"Yeah last night of course and this morning before I went to train."

"He's been acting weirder than usual." She wasn't sure if she should go and mention that he was her own personal stalker. He wouldn't like that very much.

"He seems fine to me Sakura. Has he been saying mean things to you again? Should I kick his ass?"

She smiled at that.

"No it's okay he hasn't been saying anything bad." She patted his arm with affection. Just as she did so Sasuke walked in and took the seat next to her. So it was Sai, Naruto Sakura and Sasuke in that order. Seeing as how this was like a group gathering they moved to a table in which Sakura found herself sitting between Sai and Sasuke.

"Hey Ug-erm-Sakura" Started upon seeing the look in her eye. "I have another mission after the Suna one." She rolled her eyes. "I think you should go with me and play the female, I'd rather not dress up like a girl and seduce a man."

"I'm sure plenty of your fan girls would love to play dress up with you."

"If you're joking that's not funny, if you're being serious that's even worse."

"Oh stop with your attempts at pouting, it doesn't work."

"Fine." He stuck his tongue out at her and she did the same.

"Come on guys, can't you two just stop your constant bickering." Cried Naruto who's eye was twitching as he looked at them. They both looked at him for a second to see if he was in fact Naruto and started to laugh.

"Naruto we do it because we're friends and that's how we show that we care."

"So all those times you'd punch me and hit me and scream at me was you showing me you care?" Naruto asked raising an eyebrow.

"Riiight." She said glancing at Sai and giggling nervously. Naruto didn't seem to notice this and just grinned.

Sasuke knew he was caught by Sakura but he also knew she wouldn't say a word until they were alone or she cornered him. While sitting here next to her he could be close without being questioned. It worked perfectly.

"So Sasuke what brings you here?" Naruto Asked.

"Do I need a reason?" He asked.

"Nope but its great that you're hanging with us!" Naruto's boyish fox grin ignited tenfold.

"Say Ug- that'll work. Where is the Hyuuga today? I figured you two were glued together." Oh Sai.

"He happens to have an actual life and clan to worry over. He needed to check in with his team actually and such. Besides there's another mission to look forward to soon."

"What are you on that mission or any mission. Just a medic-nin?" Sasuke asked with a smirk. He wanted to get a reaction out of her. See her old self shine through.

"Oh that's cute Sasuke. But no, that's just part of who I am on a mission. I'm used a lot for my power and strength as well as my ability to heal the wounded." Damn her. His smirk slipped away and he retreated back into his mental cave.

Just as Naruto was about to say something someone burst through the doors.

"Haruno-sama! Come quick they need you now." A young male with a medical jacket exclaimed with panic.

"Right." she got up and left with him.

"I wonder what happened." Sai stated looked out the window as Sakura left with the young medic-nin.

* * *

Neji wondered where Sakura could have gone to. He remembered that she was going to meet up with Sai. He found Sai with Naruto and Sasuke but no Sakura. He would have gone to ask them but didn't want them to wonder why he was searching for her. That was his business. As he walked by the hospital he sensed her. She must been working after all today. He walked in and asked the receptionist were Sakura might be.

He wasn't expecting to find her in the ER with another woman with pink hair or those dangerous green eyes.

"Neji? What are you doing here?" She asked wiping away a flood of sweat from her brow.

"I came to see—the Hokage-sama." he answered shifting his eyes to the right, avoiding hers.

"She's gone for the night and I'm leaving." she placed her clipboard down and started for the exit. "Good night Neji."

She was almost to the door before he found himself following.

"I'll join you."

* * *

Much later, as the sun set over the horizon, ending another day, Sakura found herself strolling with Neji. Visiting hours were over and her sister needed sleep. Neji had offered to walk her home, even though she was more than capable of getting there fine.

She couldn't have been happier having her sister back in her life, after spending so long mourning her death. It was like a miracle of sorts. What would it be like once she was well again? Tsunade said that she would only have to stay over the weekend and then she'd be released Monday. It was so exciting!

"Thank you for being there with me today, Neji." she stated once they reached the sidewalk leading to her apartment. The overhead lights gleamed off his raven hair as his eyes looking into hers with a strange intensity.

"Yes, no problem." he managed to say in a whisper. Something was definitely up with him.

"Well I'm going to go in now, good night Neji." She stated and turned to go but felt his hand grasp her arm and pull her back. Her heart felt as though it were going to stop or even burst at any second. Such a simple gesture as skin contact could cause this. "Neji? Wha-"

She found her words fade as his grasped the sides of her face and pulled her in. She couldn't look away as his face moved in close to hers. His warm breath brushing against her face. The longing for this was to great, to vast to withstand this gap between them.

The moment their lips met she thought she might fall into darkness. It was so overwhelming, so intense that she never wanted it to end. Every piece of her body trembled with longing for him, his touch.

Just as it was becoming to hard to breathe he broke apart and looked too shocked to speak at first.

"Sakura-san." he whispered. "I should not have done that. I'm terribly sorry. I should go."

Before she had a chance to say 'no don't leave' he was gone leaving a shocked Sakura in his wake.


End file.
